


Twilight

by Jemima_Puddleduck



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bathing/Washing, Comfort/Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Missy Whump, Missy has nightmares, Missy self harms, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Sleepy Cuddles, The Doctor cares for Missy, The Vault (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2017-08-27
Packaged: 2018-12-20 08:06:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11916699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jemima_Puddleduck/pseuds/Jemima_Puddleduck
Summary: The Doctor looks after Missy on one of her bad days.Inspired by the 'Twilight' bath bomb from Lush that made me think of Missy.Warning for small mention of self-harm.





	Twilight

The Doctor unlocked the large vault doors and walked inside, laden with carrier bags. Missy had been begging him for more supplies, and he had finally found a moment to slip them to her without Nardole's interference. 

"Missy!" He called upon entering. The name bounced back to him from all sides of the vault and hung limply in the air. He called again, but no response came. The Doctor's face fell and he knew she was having a bad day. 

He placed the bags on the floor quietly and walked cautiously towards the bed. He found her sitting on the cold stone floor, propped up against the side of the bed. Her head was bowed forward and her hair was falling out of her elegant updo in messy strands to hang limply around her face. Her eyes were wide and unseeing, fixed on the wall in front of her. Skirts billowed around her ankles, almost swamping her slight frame. 

"Missy." The Doctor repeated softly, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. Missy twitched violently and sprung back from him as if he'd scalded her, muttering under her breath and staring at him with wide eyes. Once her chest had stopped heaving with the fright, she seemed to come back to herself. The life returned to her eyes and she allowed The Doctor to approach her once more. He curled his hand around one of hers and felt her skin cold and clammy to the touch. He rubbed his thumb around her palm in comforting circles.

"Come here." He murmured softly, drawing her towards his chest. She went gladly, burying her head into his neck and fisting her shaking hands into his shirt until her knuckles went white. "Bad day?"

Missy made a low noise, like a wounded animal. The Doctor drew her closer, snaking his arms around her to form a protective cage. She pressed back desperately, curling into him as if she was a child crawling onto her parent's lap. 

"What do you need?" The Doctor asked, stroking her hair with his calloused fingers. "Do you want a bath?"

He felt her nod into his neck, baths always seemed to calm her negative thoughts and push away the bad memories. He slowly stood her up and walked with her to her small bathroom. He sat her down on the chair in the corner and turned on the taps. Missy watched absently, as the hot water gushed from the pipes. The Doctor fetched a small bag from his pile of supplies and Missy could smell it from across the room. 

"I brought you bath bombs." He told her, holding out the bag. "There's a few in here that are supposed to help you sleep."

Missy still didn't speak, but the intense gratitude in her eyes was obvious. She silently took the bag from him and picked through it, pulling out a purple bath bomb that smelled vaguely of lavender. She placed it into the water and watched it spin and fizz away. A small smile crept onto her face as she watched purples and blues spill out and wind into each other like a pair of twirling ballerinas. The water began to shimmer as glitter started to spill out of the bath bomb, reminding Missy of the stars in the night sky she loved so much. The Doctor helped her into the water and she sat lightly, not wanting to disturb the twisting patterns as they shifted in front of her. Her black painted fingernails skirted over the water's surface, picking up glitter as they went. Her fingers stirred up a whirlpool in the water, reminding her of a supernova. 

The Doctor's hands were soon smoothing over her shoulders and she felt the cool sensation of the soap on her back. The Doctor slowly washed every bit of her and she relaxed into his touches. She felt cleansed in every sense, as if his nimble fingers were washing her of all her past mistakes. He came to a spot on her thigh and his fingers stuttered in their careful progress. 

"Missy." He mumbled, voice sounding oddly choked. He stared at the crimson marks on her leg, lined up like toy soldiers. 

She looked up at him and the guilt was etched into every line on her face.  
"I'm sorry." She whispered almost inaudibly, the first words he'd heard her utter all day. 

"It's alright." The Doctor soothed, making sure the cuts were clean and swiftly brushing over them. "But you need to talk to me Missy. I can't let you hurt yourself, you're under my care. Please let me help you."

"I was by myself. You weren't here." She mumbled, looking anywhere but at her friend. 

"I still have my psychic paper. Call me if you need me." He told her firmly, running a comforting hand across her back. "Promise?" 

"Promise." She said quietly, staring pointedly at the swirling water.

"Good. Thank you." The Doctor said. Missy gave a him small smile. She was always reluctant to accept his help, but knowing he cared about her was enough to improve her mood. She started to hum quietly as she splashed around in the cooling water. The Doctor smiled crookedly at her as he fetched the shampoo, he always loved her idle singing. 

The shampoo smelled of apples and The Doctor rubbed it into Missy's scalp softly. She hummed contentedly as he massaged her head and rubbed the soap all the way to the tips of her long black hair. She splashed gently in the deep purple water as she let him rinse the suds away. 

"Thank you." She said as he helped from the water and wrapped a warm towel around her shoulders. He had laid out a set of clean pyjamas for her to wear, and left her to get dressed. 

He was lying in her bed when she returned. Her skin was deep pink from the bath water and her cheeks were rosy in the warm evening light of the vault. She crawled under the covers and settled next to The Doctor, sighing contentedly when he wrapped his arms around her and brought her closer. She snuggled into him happily and yawned. 

"How long has it been since you last slept?" The Doctor asked cautiously, carding one of his hands through her damp hair. 

"A week, maybe less, maybe more." She admitted quietly, refusing to look at him once again. "I was scared to."

"I'm here now." He told her. "Sleep. Don't be frightened."

Missy nodded into his chest and sighed. She shuffled towards him even more and hooked one of her legs over his, curling into him as she settled down. He loved to have the weight of her pressed against him, with her hair just tickling his nose. She smelt like lavender and fresh green apples, and The Doctor sighed happily as he held her. He didn't sleep before she did, and waited until her breathing had slowed to a steady rhythm and small sighs were passing her lips. 

He woke up in the middle of the night to a loud, anguished noise and pain in his legs. Missy was struggling in his arms, wailing and gripping him like a life preserver. Her legs kicked out against his under the sheets, explaining the dull pain in his shins. He shook her gently, mumbling reassurances and endearments as she awoke. She gasped like a drowning man coming up for air and her chest heaved up and down. She sucked in laboured breaths, burying herself into The Doctor's chest once again. 

"Shh. Shh. It's alright. I'm here. It's alright." He soothed, gently rocking her backwards and forwards. He waited until she had stopped gasping before planting a kiss on her forehead.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He probed. She shook her head in response and shuffled gladly into his awaiting arms. 

The Doctor comforted her again, rubbing her back gently with one hand and caressing her cheek with the other. He ran his thumb along her cheekbone and she sighed peacefully. He could feel her hearts slowing into sleep and her eyelids drooped as he looked down at her.

"Thank you." She whispered quietly before falling asleep once more.


End file.
